What Trump Exposed About the G.O.P. – The New York Times

Best analysis yet. By a mile!

By MARK SCHMITT

NOV. 11, 2016

The election of 2016 is the culmination of this ideological era, but ironically reveals its hollowness. The politics of 2016 breaks entirely along lines of identity: first race or ethnicity, followed by gender, level of education, urbanization and age.

The first mystery of the year was how Donald Trump won his party’s nomination, but more important, why 16 others, including popular governors and senators, lost. The answer is simply that all the others thought the key to the Republican base was ideology. Some, such as Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, styled themselves as the purest and most adamant of conservatives, others as just practical enough to deliver on conservative goals and one (Gov. John Kasich) as sort of a moderate. None of them clicked with the Republican base, simply because ideology wasn’t what motivated the base. It was always about identity, about them and us. Only Mr. Trump had that key.

Yesterday on CBC Sam Harris was being interviewed. He says that the best everyone can hope for is that all those rash campaign promises that tRump made were just ‘playing the crowd’ – and that, when it comes down to running the country, better sense will prevail. Indeed, for many, it’s the most hopeful outlook. Certainly in his acceptance speech he did not seem like the same man whose hateful rhetoric captivated many. We shall see.

“It’s the constitution, it’s Mabo,it’s justice, it’s the law, it’s the vibe… And… ah, no that’s it, it’s the vibe.” Same speechwriter as Trump used throughout the entire campaign. And we all know Dennis won too. 😀

Why is it that, after hearing he had appointed some family members to his white house transition team (members who are taking control of his businesses so as not to create a future conflict of interest), all I can imagine is the slow descent into an oligarchy…

I get health insurance through my employer as part of my benefits. They pay part and I pay part.

Your claim doesn’t make much sense. How were you exempted from the ACA because it is “too expensive”? Are you trying to say that you cannot get coverage through the ACA because you do not qualify? That you cannot afford the insurance through the ACA? That you make too much money to qualify for the subsidies?

What it does seem like is that you have no idea what the ACA actually is. It is not only allowing people to get coverage so they aren’t making me pay for them by going to emergency rooms and then defaulting on paying, thus making the hospital charge more to me since they’ve lost money. I like the ACA because it does make people accountable for their own health care. I also like it because some things I need have been made much more affordable through it. It isn’t terribly surprising that you have no idea what you are attacking.

well, SOM, I am glad that you liked e.g. approve of and agree with my post that shows your claims about Trump to be lies. It’s great to see that you like a post that shows that you have no answer to what happens when Trump betrays you and your claims.

wow, SOM is again completely detached from reality. the ACA doesn’t prevent employers from paying the health benefit or having full time people rather than part time. That is the company’s choice. Welcome to capitalism, SOM! Where if you have someone who wants to make profits on the backs of their employees, they can.

And hmmm, just what university can’t afford to give their employees benefits like health care, SOM? And tsk, such a hypocrite, sucking at the teat of that you claim to hate so much. Considering your track record, there is little reason to believe any of your claims, especially about employment, but they could be true. I will not bother asking you for where you work.

Can I ask exactly what it is you hate about obamacare? For some decades we have had a universal health care system, which we all contribute to through our taxes, and if either party took it away it would be political suicide.

I’m not sure why limiting healthcare to only those who can afford it isn’t seen as quite elitist. I imagine that not being able to easily access medical treatment for your family is probably part of the resentment against the ‘system’ that fuelled support towards Trump. Does he have another thing in mind, or does he just want to return the old way of doing things?

“Who on Earth is feeding you all this crap about Christian beliefs being so negative?”
umm. . . you want names, SoM?

– the men who wrote the Bible (my least favourite fiction)
– People like you, CS, and your ilk who make fools of yourselves doing just that, pretty much every comment you make (that would include the comments on this very thread)

I really wish I could slot this in the right spot!
In reply to SoM saying

“Your comprehension of the Bible is exactly the same as if your read a book on quantum physics.
You just don’t have the brain power or the education to understand what you are reading.”

Are you saying belief is only valid when people are educated to a certain level within that system? Does the belief shown by the unintelligent count less, even if it is just as dearly held? Wow.

Studies show that religiosity declines as the level of education grows. If you understand a book on quantum physics you have likely already surpassed the level of intelligence of most bible believers.

Actually, rembering those bible studies classes in my youth, I believe that comprehending the bible has been reduced to following the apparently enlightened instructions within the church hierarchy, a specific ideology, rather than accepting the teachings on face value.

What’s disappointing about the article is that it still doesn’t treat the Trump candidacy seriously. It’s almost like he stole something, rather than getting enough votes to get the presidency. Thus, I think it highlights a problem that the left isn’t treating the right with credibility.

Moreover, I think that it also neglects facts that might give people on the left hope. With all of the people that turned out to vote for Trump, he still didn’t get a majority of popular votes. His electorate generally was older and whiter than Ms. Clinton’s. Yes, he energized many voters who would have stayed at home (and Clinton did not energize people enough to vote for her), but it still wasn’t enough.

I think people are scared to treat his candidacy seriously. By doing so we’d have to admit to some very uncomfortable truths.
Not least of which is that, even if we accept that not all his voters are xenophobic/sexist/homophobic/racist- we can’t divorce that from the idea that they are, at the very least, willing to live with those things.

Yes, from a Jungian perspective, he embodies the national Shadow. At least now it’s out and in the open. What we, collectively, choose to do with and about it is going to be interesting. To say the least. Aloha.

Yes, we definitely need to know This Is Us. No matter how ugly it may appear. We can only hide from these less savory aspects so long. And now, (cringe, cringe), they have been splayed out in the open for the world to see. And us, as well. Not a pretty sight. Definitely not. Aloha, dear MM.

He drew votes and esp traditionally dem voters because blue collar America is tired of the PC culture, every one seems to have some political advocacy support except people that work, working people pay for all the free stuff the left demands, jobs exported, illegal immigration bankrupting services of cities and communities and tired of being called racist just for being white.

Credit to anyone who can stomach responding to these racist Christian morons.
On the other hand, Gregg Popovich, coach of the San Antonio Spurs, said some of the most affecting words in this whole season:

“One could go on and on, we didn’t make this stuff up. He’s angry at the media because they reported what he said and how he acted. That’s ironic to me. It makes no sense. So that’s my real fear, and that’s what gives me so much pause and makes me feel so badly that the country is willing to be that intolerant and not understand the empathy that’s necessary to understand other group’s situations. I’m a rich white guy, and I’m sick to my stomach thinking about it. I can’t imagine being a Muslim right now, or a woman, or an African American, a Hispanic, a handicapped person. How disenfranchised they might feel. And for anyone in those groups that voted for him, it’s just beyond my comprehension how they ignore all of that. My final conclusion is, my big fear is — we are Rome.”